A Legion of Madness
by Shadowsouls0
Summary: Thatcher and Julie, the brother and sister new-kids in Nipton... at least they were, before the Legion. After witnessing the cruelty of humanity and the Legion first hand, Thatcher and Julie are saved an unknown fate by a mysterious woman. Follow the adventures of the two ex-Khans as they travel the wastes, looking only for a place to call their own. Rated M because this is fallout
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one: Of human nature

 **(a/n- something I thought of while replaying fallout new vegas (been years since I have… man I forgot how good of a game it is) but I'll let the story do the talking. And yes, I did include OC's because of… reasons that will become apparent soon.)**

" _This wasn't supposed to happen._ "

That same thought was running through my head as I held onto my sister, looking around at the group of people we were being moved towards. My friends, my neighbors, customer's of Nipton and others… all of us were being gathered here, prodded by the spears of the Legionaries as they started gathering us. I held tight to my little sister, Julie, I held her hand and refused to let go, and I looked ahead, squinting my eyes to try and see mom and dad. I couldn't see them of course, I could barely _see_ at all. " _Stupid nearsightedness._ " I thought as me and Julie stopped moving, at the center of the crowd in the center of town, right in front of the town hall. I felt one of them men shoving something in my hands as I held it up, I saw it was what seemed to be a small slip of paper, the number '6' written on it in crude handwriting. I looked down, my sister holding up hers as well. "What's this big brother?" she asked, pointing to what looked to be a number '5' on the ticket.

"Hello people of Nipton." I heard a strangely creepy voice say. I looked up, and I saw a blur of brown. I felt a nudge against my hand as I looked down, seeing my sister holding up a pair of glasses. "Thanks sis." I whispered, pulling them on and looking up towards the man. Now that I could see, I found that he was wearing sunglasses, with a dog pelt draped over his shoulders, and a savage looking hound at his feet. He was dressed in the typical legion armor, not surprising, but I could tell he was the leader of this little raiding party. His skin was pale white, but he held a slight smile. He spoke slowly, in a way that reminded me of a snake. "I'm sure you're all wondering about those little tickets of yours right? Well, we're having a… lottery, of sorts." he said, letting out a low chuckle, some of the legion members doing the same thing. I felt my sister wrap her arms around me, and I did the same, holding her close. I didn't like this. "You there." he said, pointing towards someone in the front.

The man walked up, one of the powder gangers, clutching his ticket. The man smiled, "What number does your ticket say?" he asked, slowly and reciting it as if it were a death sentence. It probably _was_ come to think of it. The man gulped, looking down at the ticket with shaking hands. "F-Forty-two!" the man said. The legion man smirked, walking over and plucking the ticket from his hands. He looked up, pushing down his sunglasses slightly and smirking towards the powder ganger. "Then you're lucky loser number one. Off with his head." he said calmly. The man started shouting, struggling against the grip of the two legion members. No one did a thing. Not even the other powder gangers. They just watched as they forced him to the ground, they just watched as his head rolled off his body.

That went on for so long, for so long people getting called up, some being beheaded, others crucified, and a few others taken away. The mayor himself was called up, turned out _he_ was the reason the legion was here. He sold us out, and now he was burning over a stack of tires. Our numbers had dwindled so much, but still we out numbered the legion. "You. Little girl, holding onto the glasses wearing kid." the man said, keeping that same smile as he pointed at Julie. I glared up at him as I held Julie tighter to me. The man clucked his tongue, two legionaries coming forwards and trying to force us apart. I didn't budge, I didn't move. I felt a sharp pain on my back as I, finally, feel to my knees, falling on the ground. "At least one tries to resist." I heard the man say, smiling towards me. My sister was guided up there, shaking like a leaf. When she read off her card, I felt my heart skip a beat, waiting for the man to decide her fate. I didn't have to wait long.

"Crucifiction."

I felt my heart stop as I stood, looking over and seeing her struggling against the stronger men. I tried to move forwards. "JULIE!" I yelled, reaching out towards her, only for two legion members to hold me back. I looked over, and I saw mom and dad… just standing there Sobbing. They accepted it… they accepted that Julie was dead. They accepted the man's orders. I just watched as they lead Julie towards the cross, her looking back at me. I moved back, the men letting go for a brief second. " _You were a damn Khan kid, DO SOMETHING!_ " I heard my older sister's voice yelling at me. I gritted my teeth as I walked forwards. One of the men pointed his spear at me, but I just glared. I kicked up, kicking at the sand and getting some in his eyes as he staggered back. I lunged, punching him harder than I ever punched anyone as I grabbed his spear, swinging it around and hitting the other man with it. "JULIE! RUN!" I yelled, rushing towards her as I held the spear, my vision zoning in on the man about to nail her to the cross.

I held the spear back, throwing it with everything I had. I watched the other man fall as I rushed forwards, towards Julie. Then, I felt a much greater pain. "GAH!" I yelled, falling down as I gripped at my knee. I looked back, seeing a spear sticking out of my knee. I grabbed it, only for another hand to slowly wrap around mine. When I followed the arm, I found I was in the face of the other man, the one with the dog. "You're more of a man than I thought. But what do you hope to accomplish? Save these people? Play the hero?" he asked, giving me a little smirk as I fell forwards, him pulling the spear from my knee. "Bring the girl to me." he said, pointing towards Julie, who stood there, motionless. Two legionaries brought her over, the man smirking slightly as he grabbed her, tossing her towards the crowd. Then, he called for her parents. Mom and dad came up, not our real parents, but as close as we could get. Then, the man did something I could never forgive... or forget.

"Whichever one of you kills her, I'll let you go."

It was instant, both of them grabbing whatever they could and striking at Julie, their _daughter_ , with everything they had, both hoping to get the killing blow and walk free. I just sat there, my eyes widening as my mouth dropped open in horror. "These people are monsters, but you are not. Will you be a dog and let them win… or will you be a man?" he asked, looking down at me. I didn't even have to think about it. I stood, gripping my leg as I fought through the pain, rushing forwards. "GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER!" I yelled, punching my mother as hard as I could. My father leaned back, but I took my mother's rock, the one she'd been hitting Julie with, and I slammed it into his face, knocking him back. I crouched, reaching down and slowly picking up Julie. "Julie?! Are you okay? Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay…" I muttered, looking down at her with concerned eyes.

"She lives… both of you are not from this town of whores, are you?" the man said, standing over me. I glared up at him, reaching for a rock and hurling it towards him. He just grabbed it effortlessly, tossing it to the side. "Answer me boy." "No… we're from Freeside." I said, glaring towards the leader as I stood, gripping my bleeding knee as legion members surrounded me, all of them glaring. Some of them though… they didn't look with anger, but respect. Some of them, even fear. "Take them into the town hall." the dog wearing man said. I crouched over my sister, picking up a piece of concrete to try and defend her. But it was all for nothing. The second I tried to throw it, I felt one of them knock me over, keeping tight grips on my arms. I was panting. I was tired. I was in pain. I'd used so much energy just to try and save my sister that now they were just dragging us off like slabs of meat to a slaughter. I could only hope they wouldn't kill Julie as I felt my eyelids slip shut, and I succumbed to the darkness.

When I opened my eyes, I didn't see Nipton, I didn't see Red Rock Canyon or even Freeside… instead I saw Bitter Springs. I saw Julie, she was younger, maybe five at the most, playing around in the sand as I tossed a friend of mine to the ground, just us roughhousing like usual. Even without my glasses, where I could barely see, I could still take down most of the other boys. Dad said I had a gift… back when he was still around. Suddenly though, I saw people, our warriors, running towards the edges of the camp, all of them grabbing their pistols and clubs and pipes and really whatever they could find. I saw my mother running out towards us, wearing the familiar, opened leather vest, exposing a strip down her chest, as well as her distended stomach. She was holding a rifle, our fathers. "Julie! Thatcher! Come on! We need to go! Now!" she said, quickly picking up Julie. I took the hint, dashing over and hoisting the young girl on my back. We started running, heading towards the back with all the other children and women, blissfully unaware of the fate that awaited us… most of us, anyway.

"Thatcher?"

I slowly opened my eyes, grunting as I tried to sit up, looking around. We were in the Nipton town hall, I knew that much just from the few times that I'd been inside of it. I looked down, seeing that I was laid on a mattress, and that my wounds had been patched up. " _Who did this?_ " I thought to myself as I let my eyes trail down my wounds. Right next to me, I found something a bit odd. It was a spear, the same kind the legionaries used. I picked it up, sitting the butt on the ground and using it to pull myself to a standing position. "Are you okay Julie?" "Yeah. I heard gunfire so I hid, but this lady ran through, she started shooting everything. It's been a few hours since you got knocked out." she said. I felt my eyes widen slightly as I looked around, hoping to find something useful, maybe at least a gun. Then, I heard it. Four gunshots, resonating through the seemingly empty building. I took a step back from the doorway I thought it came from, Julie staggering behind me and holding onto, thankfully, my undamaged leg. "Think that's the last of them." I heard a female voice say.

I looked towards the door, my eyes widening a bit as I saw a woman, clad in a cowboy hat and leather armor, a backpack on and holding what looked to be a revolver. She had a pipboy on her arm, if I remembered the name correctly, and at the moment she was stabbing a stimpack into her arm, which I was _fairly_ certain couldn't bend the way it was. When she looked up, her eyes widened as she aimed her gun at me. "You don't look legion… who are you?" she said, her eyes suddenly narrowing. I tried to calm myself down as I slowly set down the spear, holding up my hands in the process. "We're from Nipton… we lived here before the legion invaded. What happened to everyone else? Are they all…" I left it hanging, not wanting to finish the sentence. She just nodded, her face showing a hint of regret. "Crucified powder gangers are all outside, along with a bunch of dead legion… though, that was mostly my fault." she said, smirking slightly as she said the second phrase.

I felt my eyes widen, "You took out the legion? All by yourself?" I asked, Julie just as wide eyed as she cowered behind my knee. The small raiding party that had taken our entire town was stopped by just one person? She nodded, "Took them by surprise. Managed to snipe three before the rest found me. Ruined my rifle though…" she said, frowning as she reached down, pulling out what looked to be a rifle barrel. A varmint rifle barrel to be exact, the same kind that I'd repaired on occasion. "So what're you doing here anyway miss?" I said, looking down towards the woman's pipboy. She didn't look like she was one of the vaults, she still had that 'wasteland' look in her eyes, the eyes of someone that had seen their fair share of death in the Mojave. She holstered her gun, seemingly not deeming me and my sister a threat. "Looking for someone. Man down in Primm said he saw him heading for Novac." she said. I nodded, that would explain why she was in Nipton. Most travellers that went to New Vegas and Novac had to go through Nipton to get there.

"Would you mind taking us? To Novac I mean." I said, knowing it was a longshot. Maybe we could survive in Novac, but there wasn't a _chance_ just me and Julie could make it in what was left of Nipton. The woman, as expected, raised an eyebrow at me, "And what do I get out of that?" she asked. I sighed, I figured she would say something like that. Most people in the Mojave wouldn't even _breathe_ for you unless you paid them, either in service or in caps. Of course, I didn't have any caps. "Your armor, it's taken some serious damage. Your gun's not in great shape either… if you let us come with you, I can repair them." I said. Everyone in Nipton knew me as the repair guy, if something broke, they'd come to my adopted parents, they'd say 'Bring it to Thatcher, he'll fix it.'. The woman slowly nodded, a small smile on her face. "Alright then, prove it. Fix my rifle." she said, tossing the rifle barrel at me. I raised an eyebrow, only to see her setting down what looked to be the rest of the parts. At least she _had_ all of them. " _Eh, I've worked with less._ " I thought as I crouched down, grabbing a rag from my pocket and cleaning some parts, twisting others, moving them around.

After maybe eight minutes I was finally done, and I held up the finished product. The woman didn't look convinced, and held up her pip boy, her eyes widening. "Like it's brand new… nice work." she said, smiling down at me. She reached down, holding out her pistol, but I held up my hands, slowly shaking my head. "Nope. You get us to Novac, _then_ I repair your gun and armor." I said. She pouted towards me, smirking a bit as she walked over, leaning over slightly. I looked away, finding that I was staring at the _one_ place her skin showed through her armor, and I would be looking down her cleavage if I did. "Not even for me cutie?~" "No. Get us, to Novac." I said, turning to face her with the sternest look I could muster. She pouted again, standing back up and smoothing out her armor. "Dammit. That normally works. Alright fine, I'll get you and your sister to Novac." she said. I smiled at the woman, reaching down and hoisting the legion spear back over my shoulder as Julie smiled up at me.

"Thank you miss…?" "Six. Just call me six." she said, giving me a smile as she tipped her cowboy hat towards me. I just nodded, turning around and picking up a few of the nearby herbs, each of them able to be mixed into medicines. Of course, _I_ didn't know how… that's what Julie was for. I fixed guns and armor, she fixed people… how fitting. The woman, Six apparently, just gestured to my leg, "What happened to you?" "The guy with the dog hood ran a spear through it after I killed one of his men." I said. The woman slowly nodded, but then looked back towards Julie, who was still cowering behind my leg. Six looked back to me, raising an eyebrow, "She's my little sister. I tried to save her and… well, I guess you can see how that ended." "You shouldn't be alive you know." she said, her face deadly serious. I felt a shiver go down my spine as I reaching down, casually picking up the spear and hoisting the strap around it over my back. Something about the way the woman spoke didn't sit quite right with me. "The legion aren't really known for their mercy. The whole town was slaughtered and Vulpes spared you two? I get the feeling he had plans for you… least he did before I put a bullet through his skull." Six said, smirking slightly as she lightly pat her revolver holster.

I didn't say anything as I moved the spear around again, laying the blunt edge on the ground and using it to help me walk forwards. "This should make you better." I heard Julie say. I looked down, finding that she was holding what looked to be a stimpack. I raised an eyebrow, but I accepted it regardless, I was in too much pain to really care where she'd actually gotten the stimpack. I felt instant relief as I jabbed the needle in my leg, feeling the damaged bones healing themselves. After a few seconds I unwrapped the bandages, smiling as I saw my undamaged flesh. "Where'd you get that stimpack sis?" "I took it off the table when the legion guy wasn't looking." she said, smiling up at me. I chuckled as I reached down, ruffling her hair slightly. "Nice work." I said. Normally I'd have scolded her for stealing, but if it was from the people that slaughtered our town and nearly killed both of us… I mean, who was I to stop her? Six walked over to us, giving a slight smile, "Ready to go?" she asked, drawing her revolver and aiming it towards the door. I just nodded, Julie nodding along with me as she reached up, gripping my left hand. I gripped her hands in mine as I hoisted the spear over my shoulder again, walking towards the door as Six followed.

I stopped at the door, waiting for my eyes to get adjusted to the darkness before I started walking forwards. "Whoa…" "Told you." Six said, smirking at me. What me and Julie were gawking at was the _massive_ amounts of blood, shell casings, and legion corpses that littered the ground. Even the man with the dog hood, Vulpes if what Six had said was anything to go off of, was lying dead on the stairs, as lifeless as the ground he laid on. I looked down at Julie, finding that she was covering her mouth with one of her hands, the other grasped tightly onto mine. I reached down, hoisting her up onto my back as she nearly instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck. "Just keep your eyes closed Julie… we'll be out of here soon." I said. Julie just nodded, burying her face into the back of my neck to try and not look at the bodies. Six just casually stepped over them, heading towards the eastern exit to town, through the mountain pass.

I followed, doing my best to step over bodies and bullets… but I stopped after a second, dropping the spear and grabbing a rifle off one of the dead legionaries. It wasn't in the best condition, but it would serve it's purpose. I managed to get maybe two clips for it, maybe twenty rounds in total, before I rushed off to catch up with Six. She had stopped near the sign, now leaving Nipton, and was crouched down, getting out a rifle, one that I'd generally only seen on NCR troopers. "Keep quiet, Jackal's on the ridge." she whispered, aiming her rifle down towards the ridgeline. I crouched beside her, Julie jumping off of me and dashing over towards a nearby bush, likely seeing some kind of medicinal herb or something. I got out the rifle, aiming it towards the hillside. I shut one eye, seeing the occasional flashes of movement coming from the Jackals. I saw one in metal armor, and that was enough for me to know who we were dealing with. "Shoot on my kill." Six said, her eyes dead centered on the man in the metal armor. I nodded, aiming towards one that had seemed to notice us, drawing his gun and walking in our direction.

BANG!

"GAH!" I heard Six yell, gripping her shoulder. I fired off my own rifle, killing the now approaching jackal before he started rolling down the hill. I pulled back the bolt and looked around, my eyes widening as I saw Six quick draw her revolver, aiming it behind us. One second there was a legion soldier, the next there was a corpse. I turned around, firing off a few rounds towards some of the less armored jackals, knowing that I couldn't kill the leader with the peashooter I had. "You're not a bad shot with that thing." Six said before she drew her own rifle, firing off another round, killing another jackal that had gotten close. I fired at the metal armor clad jackal, the only one left, as he started firing what looked like a submachine gun at us. Me and Six seemed to have the same thought as we both started backing up, me ducking behind a nearby building, Six the nearby mountain-side.

I aimed around the corner, firing a few rounds that simply pinged off the jackal's armor. " _This rifle's not strong enough… I need something better._ " I thought. I saw Six firing a few revolver rounds at the jackal, said man running towards us now. If the bullets were hurting him, he didn't show it. I turned around, dashing back around the house as I looked for something, _anything_ on the dead legion soldiers to kill the jackal. Then I saw it, the spear that I'd laid down not a few minutes ago. I holstered the rifle around my shoulder, picking up the spear and rushing back around. I held my arm back, hoping the man wouldn't see me, before I lunged forwards, throwing the spear as hard as I could. I watched that spear sail through the air before I heard the loud clang, the spear piercing through the man's armor and shoulder, pinning him to the ground for a moment. That was all the time Six needed, she quickly fired a shot at him with her revolver, man was dead before his body could hit the ground.

I dashed over, seeing Six holding onto her shoulder as she holstered her gun. She smiled at me, "Nice throw." "Thanks. You alright?" I asked, concern painting my face as I saw the blood coming from her shoulder. She was trying to staunch the bleeding but, I could tell it wasn't working all that well. She shook her head, "Thing busted up my shoulder… I'm fresh outta stims." she said, walking over and rooting around the armored man's corpse. I heard what sounded like the pattering of feet as I turned, smiling as I saw Julie running up to us, holding a few plants in her hands. "Maybe I can help!" she said, smiling as she walked over to Six. Six raised an eyebrow, but Julie didn't seem to be deterred, walking up and laying a hand on the underside of Six's armor. "You need to get that armor off so I can treat the wound." she said. I turned around, walking away as I heard Six mumble something in agreement. Even if Six didn't mind I knew that Julie would want me to leave while Six wasn't in her armor.

I sat down against the side of the house I was using as cover against the jackal, and I held out the old rifle. It wasn't in the worst condition I'd ever seen, so I grabbed out my kit, getting to work on it. Fixing weapons helped clear my head, helped me think. " _What are we going to do when we get to Novac?_ " that thought almost made me stop cleaning the weapon barrel. There was a question to worry about, what _were_ we going to do when we got to Novac? Would they even allow us there? It wasn't like we had any caps or anything really to our name. Maybe I could set up a repair shop? That would be the only thing I could think of. Maybe Julie and I could sell medicines and plants there or something.

It was about ten minutes later when I saw Six walk around the corner, clad in what looked to be a vault suit. I raised an eyebrow at her attire, but she just shook her head, "Armor's too busted up. Won't protect me any." she said. I just nodded, standing up and pulling back the bolt on my rifle to load a round into the chamber. Julie came around the corner a second later, this time with what looked to be a small satchel over her shoulder, likely filled with as many plants and herbs as she could find. She smiled, holding the satchel up, "Look! I found a bunch of healing plants!" "Nice job Julie." I said, giving the little girl a smile as she let the satchel thump against her side. I saw Six walking towards one of the jackals, almost ripping the armor off of it's body as she laid it on the ground, going around and doing the same to two other jackals. Then she seemed to haphazardly take good pieces of both, repairing the armor without _near_ the efficiency I could've done it with. The she quickly stripped off the vault suit, exposing her gray shirt and underwear, and quickly pulled on the other armor, tossing the vault suit in her backpack. "Let's move while it's still dark," Six said, walking along the road. Then she turned, smiling back at the two of us,

"We've got a long way to go."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two: The Dumbest, the Smartest, and the Realest ( **Veronica: "It's a word.")**

 **(a/n- You know, to try and help explain some things with the characters and how they act (Six in particular), here are the characters stats.**

 **Six:**

 **S- 1**

 **P- 8**

 **E- 1**

 **C- 10**

 **I- 1**

 **A- 9**

 **L- 10**

 **Tagged: Speech, Barter, Guns**

 **Traits: Small frame, Good natured**

 **Thatcher:**

 **S- 9**

 **P- 1**

 **E- 9**

 **C- 3**

 **I- 8**

 **A- 8**

 **L- 2**

 **Tagged: Repair, Melee weapons, Survival**

 **Traits: Heavy handed, four eyes**

 **Julie:**

 **S- 1**

 **P- 10**

 **E- 1**

 **C- 6**

 **I- 10**

 **A- 7**

 **L- 5**

 **Tagged: Medicine, Science, Lockpick**

 **Traits: Heavy handed (I'd think it's heriditary for a Khan), Good natured**

 **(a/n- there you have it, Six is the dumb, lucky, hot gunslinger; Thatcher's the near-blind, unlucky, tough-guy mechanic; and Julie's the weak, medical thief. Anyway, let's get on with the second part. Sorry if there's typos but this allergy season my eyes are blurring so bad I can barely see my computer screen… seriously I had to type half this with my eyes closed. Anyway, hopefully I can catch most of them, on with the story!)**

"What the heck are you doing!?"

I said, glaring towards my vault suited companion. We'd walked up the road a spell before we decided to make camp at a place Six's pipboy identified as "Wolfhorn ranch". Six had just taken out a piece of raw gecko meat… and was about three seconds from eating it when I grabbed it from her. "I'm eating, what does it look like?" she asked. I walked over towards a campfire, which was _literally_ three feet away, and pierced the meat on the edge of my throwing spear. One I decided on keeping. I started the fire before I looked back, "Do you know how many diseases you could catch by doing that?! Not even to _mention_ how bad it must be on your digestion. Ever heard of Salmonella?" I asked.

"Des-eze? Sama- what now?" she asked, looking at me with a blank stare as she knocked back a nuka-cola. I sighed, slowly shaking my head as I gave my sister 'the look', the one that told her exactly what I was thinking. " _Great, another genius._ " I thought sarcastically as my sister nodded, walking over and lightly patting Six on the back. "You poor, poor woman." Julie said, looking up at her sympathetically. Six was even more confused by this, looking down and awkwardly patting Julie on the back as I turned, holding out my spear towards the two. "There, it should be safe to eat now." I said. Six took it, casually taking a bite before smiling, eating it _far_ faster than I'd expected her too. She looked at me, her eyes sparkling with a wonder that was almost childlike… seriously I'd never even seen _Julie_ look that excited. "How did you do that?! It's _so_ much better!" she said, walking over and wrapping her arms around my left one, seemingly not caring about the spear I just _barely_ moved out of the way in time.

I looked away, feeling a slight blush creep to my face. I wasn't used to being complimented by someone… well, someone that was around my age at least. Usually it was the older adults that complimented me, or that one guy that worked with robots all day. Once it was the mayor's whores… then they got mad since I wouldn't pay to sleep with them. "It's not really that hard." "Can you teach me?" Six asked, smiling over at me as she leaned closer. I turned away, feeling my blush burn brighter as she laid her chin on my shoulder. I wasn't much used to physical contact either… at least, not with someone like Six. Julie? Sure, I'd woken up with her next to me plenty of times. Nightmares did that after all. But Six? No. Not even _close_. "If you have another I… might be able to show you." I said, looking away from her. I felt her move away as I looked over, seeing her pulling out a piece of the raw, tough gecko meat she'd just tried to eat a moment ago. I grabbed my spear, holding it out to her.

"Take my spear." I said. She complied, gripping my spear with a far lighter grip than I did, guess she wasn't as physically strong as I was huh? I jabbed the meat onto the spear, didn't really matter how, just as long as it stayed on there. "Okay, now hold it over the fire. No not like that! No! You'll burn it! Like _this_!" I said, getting fed up with her repeated wrong attempts. I grabbed her hands, jerking her slightly forwards as I made it to where she was holding the spear properly. I looked back, blushing slightly as I realized she'd fallen down, the only thing keeping her from falling being my hands and their grip on my spear, right over her own. I loosened my grip, thinking of this, and just say back on a nearby log, her moving around and doing the same. I felt her side pressed against mine as she sat next to me, keeping her grip just as well as before.

After a few minutes, and I _swear_ this steak was taking longer than the last one, I felt her move her hand around, slowly slipping it from mine and laying it over. Her soft hand over my larger one as I blushed, looking away. When I looked back at the steak, I wasted _no_ time in pulling it back, taking it off the spear and handing it towards her. She shook her head, "I ate that other one, you can have it." she said. I just slowly nodded, looking over at Julie. She walked over to us, sitting on the other side of the campfire as I ripped the steak in half… well, more like three quarters, but Julie wouldn't eat much more than a fourth anyway. She grabbed it, eating hers as I did mine. I hadn't cooked over an open flame in awhile… good to see I hadn't lost my touch. "Thatcher." I heard Six say. I turned, looking towards her, only to feel a sudden pressure against my lips. It was gone in an instant, six giving me a bright smile as I felt my face explode into blush. "Thanks!"

"You… you just…" "Are you okay? Did you stay out in the sun too long?" she asked, placing a hand on my forehead. I swatted it away, causing Six to flinch back. "What the hel-er- heck was that!" I refrained myself from swearing in front of Julie, "Why did you just kiss me?!" I asked. Six tilted her head slightly, placing a finger on her chin as she gave me a blank look. I had a feeling I'd be seeing a lot of those from her. "Was it not enough of a thank you? I can do a french one if you want, or maybe even a blowj-" "SIX WHAT THE FUCK!?" I yelled, unable to help myself. Thankfully Julie, who knew the signs of when I was about to blow up, had covered her little ears, looking at us with her arms draped over her head. Six flinched back, sniffing slightly as I saw tears prickling her eyes, "I-I just thought you'd like it, most people like getting my thank-you kisses."

"Six… what kind of friends do you _have_?" I asked, raising an eyebrow towards her. What kind of parents, scratch that, what kind of _upbringing_ did she have to be so willing to give out kisses and, if I'd heard correctly before I'd yelled at her, sexual favors so _easily_? I mean, I'd taught her how to cook a _steak_ for crying out loud. I saw a few tears running down Six's face as she whimpered, turning away from me and curling up slightly. I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach as I saw her like that. Sure I was freaked out but, I didn't mean to make her _cry_. "Six no, Six don't cry. I didn't mean it." I said, holding out a hand and laying it on her shoulder. She looked over at me, blue eyes turned brighter by the fire and her tears. She turned back around, looking up at me with an expression so sad it made me feel like the worst person in the world.

"Y-You didn't?" she said. I couldn't fight my instincts, and normally I didn't even try. Now was no exception as I pulled the somewhat smaller girl into a hug. I let my hands lay on her lower back as I whispered in her ear. "Don't cry Six, just… please. Don't cry." I said, feeling somewhat awkward. The only person I comforted was Julie, so I just did the same thing with her… minus the kiss on the cheek bit. Six may have been fine with it, but I wasn't. She leaned back after a minute, smiling at me as she wiped away her tears. " _How does someone who can kill an entire legion raiding party cry at the slightest things? How does that work?_ " I thought. I figured someone that was that badass would be able to take an insult, a little criticism… guess not. "Seriously though, why did you… offer to do those things." I asked, not wanting to say it out loud.

Six only shrugged, "I've never really done anything else. People paid me for se-" "NO! Not in front of Julie." I said, whispering that last bit as I looked over, seeing Julie rather interested in a nearby plant. I looked over towards the nearby house, then back at Six. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" "That gecko's are really cute if we didn't have to kill them?" she asked, smiling at me with that same, blank stare. I just sighed as I stood, grabbing her wrist and pulling her towards the nearby house. "Just follow me." "Oh! Forcing me inside hmm~" she said in a somewhat seductive tone. I just ignored her and, other than the obvious blush on my face, gave no indication I'd heard her. I opened the door, pulling her in before I shut it behind me, spinning around to face her. "Okay, I get it. You've been around the wastes and you aren't used to holding it in, but you _have_ to try and not swear or talk about sex in front of Julie, okay?" I asked, frowning as I saw her just twirling around, lightly kicking at a bottle. "La-la-la-la-laaaa…" she said, seemingly incredibly entertained by just kicking around a bottle.

"Six…" I said, rubbing the bridge between my eyes as I tried to think of some way, _any_ way, to get this retarded girl to pay attention to my words. She looked towards me, kicking the bottle against the wall as it shattered. She walked over to me, leaning her head on my shoulder again. "Why don't you want me?" "Come again?!" I asked, backing away from her, looking at her as if she'd grown a second head. Six, on the other hand, just repeated the question. My response? Stunned silence… for almost two minutes. Then, Six spoke again, "You're weird. Every time I travel with someone it's usually not more than five minutes before they flirt with me, I flirt back, and next thing I know I'm waking up high off my ass naked in random street corner." she said. I sat there for a few seconds, taking what she just said into account as I chose my next words a bit more carefully than I normally would. "Not everyone is like that Six. Some guys don't want to have a girl strip on the mattress before they even know their name." "But you _know_ my name." she said. I couldn't help the small chuckle that rose from my throat. This girl was _so_ clueless. How she lasted in the Mojave for so long was beyond me.

"SIX!" I said, pulling back as I felt her peck my lips again. She frowned towards me, wrapping her arms around me and pressing her chin into my chest, looking up at me. "How come you do that? I keep trying to say thank you and you keep saying no." "I'm… kind of afraid to ask how I say 'yes'." I said, looking down towards the pretty yet completely moronic travelling partner me and Julie were stuck with. She moved her arms up, wrapping them around my neck. "You kiss me back. Say 'you're welcome'." she said, giving an innocent smile. I looked away, feeling my face blush as I realized, if I wanted to even _get_ to Novac with this girl, I'd probably have to oblige her crazy little quirks here and there. I leaned in, blushing, as I pecked her lips, pulling back. "You're welcome." "It feels good right?" Six asked, stepping back and walking over to the mattress, sitting down on it, cross legged.

"I… I guess so?" I said, the confusion plain on my face as I said what, to her, must've been an obvious response. She smiled at me, scootching over and laying her head down on the pillow. "Six! No!" I said, running over and grabbing her hands. Her vault suit had slipped down, exposing her bare shoulders to me as I held her hands, right near the zipper that, had she gone a little lower, would've exposed her bare breasts. She raised an eyebrow, "Why not? Why aren't you stripping?" "Six that's… we're not…Listen closely. I'm not." I pointed towards myself, "Having sex." I pointed at the bed, "With you." I said, pointing at her. I spoke every word slow and meticulous, hoping that she would understand them. She didn't have a blank look on her face this time, but she _did_ raise an eyebrow. "What are you talking about sex for? This is how all women sleep." "Pardon?" I asked, now it was _my_ turn to raise an eyebrow.

She held up one finger, her tone matter-of-fact, as if she knew it was true, "Mama always said, 'No woman should wear clothes in bed with a man, lest they plan on washin' them'." she said, saying them in a more defined accent. I blinked a few times, leaning back and looking towards the door, finding that, thankfully, Julie hadn't come inside and heard that. "What did your Mama do for a living?" "She owned a whorehouse. Took me in and made me the best whore she ever had!" Six said proudly, sitting up straight and holding her hands on her hips, me moving my hands over her breasts and pulling up on her vault suit, back over her shoulders. "Six that's… not really something to be _proud_ of." "It sure as hell was! Boys would pay sixty caps an hour to have a good time with me! I made Mama more money than all those other whores put together!" she said, glaring at me. She seemed rather defensive of this… 'Mama' of hers.

"You sold your body like that? How do you not have some kind of STD?" "STD? What's an STD? Steel Teeth Debt, like Uncle Tommy had?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at me. I just sighed, of _course_ she wouldn't know what that was either. I just sat down, laying in the bed next to her as I put my hand over my face, setting my glasses to the side. "You know what? Forget it. Just no getting naked when we're in bed together okay?" "Aww… is my underwear okay?" she asked, pulling out a pair of gray panties and a bra from her backpack. I just nodded, turning away from her as I set my own backpack down, laying my spear beside it. " _That_ you can do." I said, looking up and watching as Julie walked in the room. I felt something obscure my vision as I pulled it back, blushing as I saw the familiar blue fabric. No doubt six was standing naked above me, getting changed. I felt two arms snake around my waist, a pressure on the back of my neck as I felt two lips press against my cheek. "Night Thatcher~" "Okay new rule, no doing that." I said quickly, looking back at her with a glare. She withered, burying her head into the back of my neck as I turned around, curling up slightly as I saw Julie walk over to us. She just crawled in front of me, pressing against my chest and curling into a ball. "Night big brother." "Night little sis." I said, smiling down at her as I shut my eyes, letting myself slip into the oblivion of sleep.

…

"You're sure?"

I stood, giving a slight smile towards the bald man seated at his bloody throne. "Yes mighty Caesar. He could become a most valuable asset to us. His eyes are weak, but his courage and loyalty are _nulli secundus_ (second to none)." I said, keeping that smile on my face as he looked down, frowning towards the ground as I could almost hear the gears of the mighty Caesar's mind turning. Then he looked up, "If you were any other man I would have you killed for making such a bold request. However, if what you say is true… then I believe this could be an opportunity we should exploit. Tell me though, you said the woman, Six I believe, managed to kill the rest of your raiding party. How did _you_ survive?" he asked, glaring at me as I saw his Praetorian's ready to fight, to crucify me if I was a deserter. I only smiled,

" _Quando omni flunkus, mortati._ " (When all else fails, play dead.)

…

" _Will you be a man?_ "

I slowly opened my eyes, looking around as my eyes widened. The inside of the shack I was in were in shambles, as they were before I went to sleep. The difference? Julie wasn't there curled against my chest, or Six with her body pressed against mine. Not that I minded that last one too much. I stood up, reaching down and finding that my spear and backpack were nowhere to be found. They were gone, not even a trace. " _I swear if that retarded girl took my sister and my stuff._ " I thought as I stood, walking towards the door. I pulled it open, about to yell, only for the sound to catch in my throat. I felt the words die on my lips as I looked around, seeing, instead of the outside of the cabin like I had seen, Nipton. I recognized the place, it was the house that came from mainstreet. The one that would lead me to the center of town. I smelled burning in the air as I walked forwards, almost in a trance, and I saw it.

The day everything went to hell, what had happened earlier that day. Everything was frozen, Julie against the ground as I saw my parents, murder and fear naked on their faces as they held up weapons, ready to kill Julie. Vulpes, if Six had said correctly, was standing there, just a few feet away, smiling down at an invisible spot. In that spot, I knew, was supposed to be me. Sitting there, clutching a damaged knee, and watching in horror as my parents beat my little sister to death.

" _Are you a dog, boy? Or a man?_ "

I heard Vulpes say as he turned his head towards me, his voice echoing and just as creepy as I remember it. He started walking towards me, his mouth slowly curling into a smile as I saw some of the other Legion members slowly turn their heads towards me. "THATCHER!" I heard a shrill voice yell. I looked behind me, my eyes widening as I saw Six, in her vault suit, strapped to one of the crosses. She was struggling against it, her eyes wide and terrified. I felt my own heart thumping in my chest as I looked back, backing away from the oncoming legion. " _You'd make a fine soldier. Thatcher. Join us._ " he said, his voice like a snake's, rattling around like one in my head. It was to the point I covered my ears, but I could still hear the chorus of legionary voices, Six's screams, I could hear them all. Join us. Join us. Join us. Over and over again they said, like a broken radio playing the same damn song over and over again. I shut my eyes, crouching down as I started begging, _pleading_ with for someone, _anyone_ , to just make it _end_. I prayed to god, if such a thing even existed, I prayed to angels, demons, and everything else I could think of, to make it _stop_.

"We can't expect god to do all the work."

I opened my eyes, only to see what looked like a gun held in front of me. I took it, looking up to see… bright, blue eyes. They were gazing down at me, but what was interesting more than that was what surrounded them. Bandages. There were bandages wrapped around the figure's head, arms, assumingly their whole body. They were holding one of those pistols in their other hand, spinning it around once before pulling back on the bolt, loading a bullet as they aimed towards Vulpes. "Judgement's coming." he said, aiming at Vulpes as I joined him. I had to say, the gun felt rather natural, as if it was molded into my hands. I saw the legionaries faces twist into the masks of monsters, all of them shouting and coming towards us. I fired at them without hesitation, and the firing of the gun, it seemed to… calm me. I wasn't sure _how_ but, killing these monsters was slowing my heart down.

I looked over, seeing the bandaged man firing on the men around him, shooting at their heads and hitting every shot. I knew I wasn't _as_ good a shot, so I aimed for the torso. This guy though? Oh, he had _no_ trouble hitting those headshots. When I turned back, I saw Vulpes looking towards us, his face expressionless. I aimed towards him, firing off a few rounds, only for them to seemingly go right through him. Vulpes only smiled, " _You cannot hide behind him. Not forever._ " he said, walking backwards as I saw flames suddenly sprout up beneath him, consuming his body as he smirked, the flames consuming the street and most of the people of Nipton with him. The only one unscathed? Julie. She laid there, a circle of white light around her, keeping her safe. I saw the flames come towards me, but they were held back, if only a little, but that same, white circle. " _Dies irae._ Judgement day will come. Know that you cannot survive it by faith alone, and that the lord will not send me in life." he said. I felt the white light fading as Julie seemed to disappear. I looked over, seeing the man slowly walking away, towards what looked to be a large hole in the ground I _knew_ wasn't in Nipton when we left. He turned, blue eyes meeting brown ones as he spoke.

"God willing, we will both be with our father in heaven before we see it."

…

Warmth.

That was the first thing I felt, and for a moment I panicked, my eyes shooting open as I thought I was in Nipton still, with the flames from Vulpes burning around me. Though, I let out a sigh of relief when I realized that I could still see the messy cabin, my backpack, at least, the fuzzy shape of it, against the wall across from me. I tried to move, but found that something was trying to stop me… and not doing a very good job. I looked down, seeing two, slender arms around my waist. When I turned around, I felt my face burn bright red as I saw Six's bare back, even stretching down to her rear, pressed against me. It made things _much_ weirder when I realized the heat was coming from her breath on my neck, and her bare breasts against my back. I pulled on my glasses, still not seeing her clothes anywhere. Though, I _did_ see Julie, sitting in a corner and seemingly playing with the pipboy. Her eyes sort of glossed over with that _look_ she had, when she was interested in a piece of old-world tech.

"Julie?" I whispered, not wanting to wake the nude woman up. She looked up, her eyes still glossed over as she let out a cute little yawn. If I wasn't restrained, I might've gone over and hugged her for it, telling her to get some rest. "Hey big bruber. How are you?" she asked, her words slightly slurred and harder to understand. She was tired, I could tell by looking at her. I _knew_ she wasn't drunk, since she hated the taste of liquor in the first place. Maybe she accidently mixed up some plants and made a poison that numbed her mouth? Wouldn't be the first time that happened. "What're you doing up? And that's Six's pipboy, not yours." I said, frowning towards her as I gave her my most disapproving gaze. She sighed, looking down towards it as she set it away from her, pouting slightly. "I'm sowwy… it's just so neat! I've never seen a pipboy befo!" she said, her head swaying slightly. I just sighed, lightly pressing Six's arms away from my body as I stood, walking towards her. I leaned down, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Julie. How long have you been playing with this?" "Since you two went to bed…" she said, looking down with a guilty gaze.

I sighed, rubbing the bridge between my nose as I grabbed the pipboy, walking over and, ignoring the naked woman's large rear and bust right in front of me, slipped it back onto her wrist. I turned back to Julie, raising an eyebrow at her, "Where are her clothes anyway?" I asked, gesturing towards her as I pulled the blanket that was near the mattress over her bare body. Julie let out a little chuckle, "Fowwow me." she said, slowly standing up and swaying as she opened the door. I saw that it was still somewhat dark out, with the sun slowly rising in the distance. Julie, on the other hand, walked around the building, to the wooden fence nearby. On one of the posts I saw a pair of gray underwear, a gray bra on the one right next to it as well. I looked at Julie, who simply shrugged, "She got up in the middule of the night when I was pwaying with her pipboy. She hung them and cwaled back next to you." she said, letting out a yawn as I reached out, catching her as she fell forwards. I sighed as I hoisted her up into my arms, letting the sleeping girl rest as I grabbed Six's underwear, setting them on Julie's stomach as I walked inside.

When I got there, I saw Six's bare back facing me, her pulling on her vault suit before she turned her head, smiling at me as she motioned me in. "Hey Thatcher, can you do me a favor and zip me up?" she asked, pointing down at her bare back, where the zipper was just near her butt. I raised an eyebrow at her, setting down Julie on the floor as I held up her underwear, pointing at them. "Yeah yeah you found them, now can you zip me up so we can get a move on?" "You aren't wearing them?" I asked in a dull voice. I was both not surprised at all yet somehow still cared that the girl wasn't going to wear anything to protect herself but a thin layer of rubber. She just shook her head, "I don't wear anything under my vault suit, they chafe whenever I do and it really hurts. You have _no_ idea have painful that is on your ass." she said, lightly rubbing her rear. I felt the need to point out how that would _possibly_ work but, hey, Julie was the medically inclined one, not me. "Fine, but if that thing gets shot to pieces you're walking naked." I said, grabbing my backpack and spear.

"Is that a challenge?" "No it's… you know what? Fine, it's a challenge. You have to walk in that suit and nothing else, naked if it totally breaks." I said, waving a hand towards her as I decided against arguing with the retarded girl. She nodded at me, pointing towards her back as I got the message, walking over and finally zipping her up. She smirked towards me as she started walking, heading for the door. "If I make it to Novac clothed though, you're repairing my gear." she said. I raised an eyebrow towards her, wasn't that the condition I'd agreed to whenever she'd taken us from Nipton in the first place? I just nodded, smiling at her, "Sure. Deal." "You're going _down_ Thatcher!" she said. Then she turned around, walking out the door as one of the nails seemed to catch down low. Next thing I knew I was looking at a strip of fabric gone off her rear. I just chuckled at the girl's obliviousness to this as I picked up Julie, draping her over my back.

"Yeah, _sure_ I am."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter three: Wanted… by everyone

"AVE CAESAR!"

I looked over, my eyes widening as I grabbed my spear, running off to the left as I saw Six quick-draw her gun, firing a few bullets as she too ran for cover. I dove down, ducking as I heard bullets fly past my head. I laid the still tired Julie on the ground, whose eyes had just opened, panicked. "Wait here, and _don't_ do anything stupid." I said, standing up and pulling back my hand, aiming towards a Legionary wearing a flag on his back. I threw my spear, rushing forwards as I saw it stick into the man's stomach, pinning him to the ground. I saw him aiming what looked like a small gun at me as I dove down, hearing gunshots going off as I yanked the gun from his hand. I didn't even think as I aimed towards the man's head, firing until he was dead. Or rather, until I heard the clicking of the gun.

I tossed the gun down, drawing my spear from the man's corpse as I looked over, seeing Six suddenly get bashed against a nearby rock, courtesy of a man in what looked to be armor made from countless other pieces, hobbled together with little rhyme or reason. Hell, the only thing that _looked_ Legion about him was the helmet, with the bright red plume fanning out along the top of it. I looked over, pinning the man behind him, what looked to be a younger recruit Legionary, to the rock. He looked over, following my line of trajectory before smirking, rushing right at me. Rather than run, like a normal person, I stood firm, holding up my hands in my normal combat stance. He rushed, swinging his hammer above him to kill me in one strike.

I dodged it, leaning down and kicking some of the nearby sand onto his helmet as he staggered back. Then I rushed forwards, grabbing onto his hammer with one hand and punching him in the face with the other… not the _smartest_ idea granted- hurt like a bitch thanks to the helmet- but I got what he wanted. His hands, betraying their owner in a display of humanity, reached up for his face, grabbing where I'd punched as I spun around, hoisting the large hammer over my shoulder. I could tell it wasn't a normal hammer, mostly due to the rocket pack strapped to the back of it. I looked back at the Legionary, finding him reaching for something on his back. He pulled out a throwing spear, rearing back his hand. Now, I'd never used a sledge-hammer with a rocket pack attached to it, so I swing it like a normal hammer. I'd expected it to knock him down, maybe even kill him with the blunt-force.

I _hadn't_ expected him to _explode_.

I jumped back as I saw blood and Viscera flying almost every direction, coating the hammer in a thin, red paste. I looked down, seeing that, despite all of that, the man's armor remained untouched, relatively undamaged. I reached down, grabbing the spear in his hand before I walked over towards the other Legionary I'd killed, pulling the spear out from his shoulder and slinging both over mine. I started rooting around in his pockets for a minute, looking for anything useful. Thankfully, I found some scrap metal. " _Perfect._ " I thought as I sat back, grabbing out my kit and moving around some of the pieces of metal on the rocket pack, replacing them with what I could get out of the scrap metal. The hammer was in bad shape, a few swings from just severing off the wooden end. After a few minutes though, I had it back to perfection.

"Six?" I asked, having heard no comment from her the entire time I was working… didn't say it was a _bad_ thing but, it was a bit concerning. Based on what little interaction we'd had, I'd figured she would be looking over my shoulder and asking what every little thing did. I stood, holstering the hammer, thankful for my new weapon, and walked around, looking for Six. When I found her… well, I kind of wish I'd let her come to me. Six wasn't in good shape, the blood around her lip and the gashes on her arms and legs made that much clear, but the only thing in worse shape than her was her vault suit.

The thing was in shambles, the whole back of it torn off, and now it almost seemed as if it was short sleeved, and the legs of whoever wore it were shorter than _Julie's_. It covered Six up well enough, but the second I went to stand her up, I looked away, seeing basically the rest of her jumpsuit fall off her body. " _Well, she said she'd walk naked to Novac… who are you kidding Thatcher?_ " I thought to myself as I grabbed the pieces of her jumpsuit, ignoring her naked body as I moved around the rock, sitting back against it before getting out my needle and some rubber I'd scavenged before the Legionaries ambushed us. I started sewing, stopping as I heard some movement to my right. I looked over, but immediately turned back to sewing, my face suddenly burning, as I caught a glimpse of Six limping over to me. I heard her sit down, and I risked a glance over. I found that she was at _least_ smart enough to hide herself with her backpack, exposing only her bare side and legs to me.

"Why are you-" "Forget the challenge okay? I'm not walking all the way to Novac with you naked." I said, knowing what she was going to say. She was going to ask why I'd abandoned the challenge and, I wasn't sure _how_ but, I knew she'd do it, find a way to kiss me. I wasn't sure _how_ she'd swing that, but I had a distinct feeling she'd do it. I felt a weight on my shoulder as I glanced at her, seeing bright blue eyes looking down at my sewing. Then, up at me. "While you're doing this… is there a way you can make some adjustments for me?" "Six why would I… wait, what kind of 'adjustments' are you talking about?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her. I mean, it was a thin, rubber suit. I wasn't sure what exactly I could do with it to either (a) make it more protective, or (b) make it do it's job better. I mean, it was a sheet of blue rubber, more or less.

"Just a few little things. Whoever owned this before me was a lot smaller than me. Can you make the breasts and the butt a bit bigger? The hips are really snug too…" "You basically just want me to make this a size bigger, right?" I asked, looking over at her. It wasn't hard to tell, even by just looking at her. The suit wasn't made for someone of Six's… uh, endowment… I guess. Point being, it was at _least_ a size too small… better make it two, just in case. "That's not all. Can you make it so the legs don't go up past my thighs? And leave the arms free at the shoulders? Oh! And can you make it so it stops just below my breasts? And just above my waist?" she asked. I looked over at her… I'd say incredulously but that would be an _understatement_. Was she seriously, _seriously_ , asking me to make this vault suit, likely the _last_ of it's kind, into some kind of stripper get-up?

"Six isn't the whole point of this to keep you, I don't know, _protected_? What's the point if it exposes your stomach, arms, _and_ legs to the elements?" I asked. I knew she wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer, hell she was a probably a _spoon_ in that drawer, but even _she_ must realize how pointless it is. Six sighed, "Thatcher, it's made of thin rubber, you can see it just fine! It's not protecting me from bullets anyway! Not to mention I might be able to negotiate a bit better. It's hard for people to focus when they're aroused." "AH!" I said, shaking my hand a bit as I accidentally pricked my finger with the needle. I looked over at Six, finding her smirking at me, as if to say 'you just proved my point!'. I just slowly shook my head, "If you want me to change all this, it's not free. This wasn't part of our deal." "You get to see me walk around in tight rubber shorts and a rubber top that doesn't even cover my belly, isn't that enough?" she asked, smiling over at me with that familiar, lustful smile. I had a feeling this time though, it was more to get what she wanted.

"In a word, no." "What do you want me to do then? Give a lap dance? Promise to never zip it all the way? Let you spank me? Name it, I'll do it." she said, smiling over at me as I looked down, finishing sewing the back bit together, the part with the number. I set the needle down, turning to look at Six. Unless I didn't want to make those adjustments (which I didn't) I couldn't do anything else. I thought back to Nipton, and I remembered how much I typically got payed for repairing a piece of clothing. "150 caps, and you have a deal." I said, giving a slight smile. I asked for more than I normally did of course, mostly since I figured Six would try and talk me down. I figured I could at _least_ get 75, maybe even 100 out of her.

"You're taking material _off_! It's not as hard as putting it on! How about fifty caps and a favor?" she asked, frowning towards me as I raised an eyebrow. That was actually a rather reasonable negotiation. Who knew people so stupid were so good at haggling prices? "What are the limits on that favor?" "None. Any sexual fantasy you want, anything stolen, or anyone killed, you ask, I'll do it."I just nodded a few times before I spoke, "Alright, you wanna haggle? 125 caps. No favor." I said. We went on like this for a little while. Me saying a higher offer and her giving back a lower one.

 **(a/n- yeah prepare for a long and (arguably pointless) negotiation sequence. Hey, barter might not be among Thatcher's** _ **tagged**_ **skills, but I never said he was terrible at it.)**

"Come on! 65 caps and a favor."

"No. How about 115 caps and no favor?"

"Seriously?! 75 caps and a favor!"

"I don't think so. 100 caps, no favor."

"Hmm… 90 caps and a favor!"

"125 caps."

"Hey! That's just the original offer again! Fine then! 115 caps and _two_ favors!"

"Actually, how about 100 caps, two favors, and you give me your varmint rifle, along with the bullets to go with it."

"Why would you even need that!? Alright, you owe me three stimpacks in exchange for the ammo then! It wasn't easy to find!"

"I plan to teach Julie how to shoot thank you very much. Also, do you know how much stimpacks cost? One stimpack, and you've got a deal."

"Okay… two stimpacks!"

"You want two stimpacks? Fine, but it'll be another 25 caps."

"You know what? Deal, but you have to carry me to Novac unless I say otherwise! And you can't reject my kisses until we get there!"

"You're pretty good at this Six. Alright, deal." I said, holding out my hand towards her. Instead she moved past it, pressing her lips against mine. I was about to move back when I felt her hands reach behind me, her pushing me back slightly as I saw her move around. She pulled back, "Remember our deal~" she whispered before capturing my lips again. I just stopped resisting, putting down my hands as I felt her moving her hands around my hair, and after a while it just became easier. Eventually though, she broke off, her lungs _clearly_ not as strong as mine were. "That's my fault… I didn't tell you to kiss _back_ did I?" "No… no you didn't. Now get off my lap, I have to finish your vault suit." I said. She complied, moving back and, I _swore_ this was intentional, rubbing her breast past my vision, before I could actually reach down and get to work. If I'd looked over, I'd have noticed she was leaned out, no longer bothering to cover herself with the backpack after our (one-sided) make-out session.

"Done." I said, tossing the two separate pieces of the vault suit towards her, without looking since I had the _odd_ sense that she was naked still. I heard her giggle and stand up, the sound of rubber against skin present as I moved around my backpack, putting my kit back inside it as I stood, swinging it over my back as I grabbed my hammer, finally looking at Six. " _Some fine work, if I do say so myself._ " I thought with a slight smile. The suit looked almost the same way it was before, other than having _a lot_ less material in certain places, and _a lot_ more in others. I'd taken off the arms, legs, and midriff portions of the suit and basically stitched them around the chest and her crotch. Now the suit wasn't as snug around her hips and reached down, covering her butt a bit better than they were before. At least, to the point they weren't stretched so _thin_ over her ass-crack.

It reached just below her thighs, curving up and stopping right at her waist. Above that was her exposed navel, and above that further were her two large breasts, covered by the fabric and the zipper near the front. It was made to where she could easily slip the top off just by zipping it down, the same way with the shorts. Whoever thought having the vault suit's zipper go down _that_ low on a female was either a pervert or had some strange, fundamental understanding about who would end up wearing them I didn't have. It left her shoulders exposed, showing the top bit of her cleavage as she pulled down the zipper about halfway, exposing even more. "Ahh… now I can _breath!_ " she said, spinning around before falling back in the sand.

She sat up, reaching for her backpack before she tossed something towards me. I grabbed it, smiling as I noticed it was her varmint rifle, the one I'd fixed back in Nipton. I disassembled the components and shoved them in the bag, doing the same with the ammo she handed me a second later. "Here you go, 125 caps. Now hand over the stimpacks." she said, blushing slightly as she tossed the bag of caps at me. I grabbed it, setting them in my bag as I heard them jingling around.I stood, walking towards where I set Julie down to see that she had, predictably, fallen asleep. I grabbed her bag, reaching in and finding, among other medicinal plants and roots, two stimpacks she must've made last night, before she started playing with Six's pipboy.

"Here you- mmph!" I said, about to hand her the stimpacks before I felt her jerk me forwards, kissing me again. I just shrugged, deciding to wrap my arms around her waist this time. After a minute she stepped back, taking the stimpacks from my hands and putting them in her backpack. "Why did you-" "I haven't kissed anyone in awhile, consider yourself practice." she said, smirking slightly as she turned around, flicking the wheel and a few buttons on her pipboy as I turned, reaching down and picking up Julie. I lightly shook her, small eyes opening to see my own. "Time to wake up Julie, or you'll _never_ be able to sleep tonight." I said, giving her a small smile as I set her down. She reached back, stretching slightly as she smiled, raising an eyebrow at Six. "Why does she look like Miss Rosie?" "Because she's a who-Mph!"

I just wrapped my arms around Six again, waiting until she was done kissing me before she glared at me, still smiling. "You were saying?" "I said you're a who-mmph!" she kissed me again, this time more forcefully, and held for longer, until she pulled back, panting as I too caught my breath. Not that it was that hard, my lungs were a lot stronger than hers apparently. "I'll kiss you as many times as I have to!" "You won't have to anymore then. Come on Julie, time for us to go." I said, looking over at my little sister. She just nodded, smiling at me as she turned around, walking at my side as I'd expect. Knowing her she probably figured out why Six was kissing me at this stage, or, at the very least, got a pretty good idea. I staggered forward slightly as Six jumped on my back, smiling down at me as she drew her revolver, placing it on my shoulder. "Let's go baby~" she said, winking at me as she leaned in, kissing my cheek. "Don't call me that."

…

"Thatcher! Vipers!"

I ducked down, covering Six's mouth as I pulled her behind a nearby rock. I looked over at Julie, who was crouching on a rock across from us. I quickly assembled the varmint rifle, tossing it, with only one clip in it, towards her. "Thatcher! I've… I've never _killed_ anyone before! Remember!?" "First time for everything, just aim for the head." I replied, getting out my throwing spears, setting the hammer aside for a moment. Six jumped off of me, spinning her revolver as she looked over the rocks, no doubt seeing them. "How many?" "Six: three normal, two in leather armor. The last one's in metal." she replied quickly, loading her revolver before she spun it. I just nodded, looking up as I saw them walking towards us, weapons drawn. They might not have seen us yet, but they _definitely_ knew something was there.

I decided to strike first, standing up and rearing back my fist, throwing my spear. I saw it stick into the one with metal armor, pinning him to the ground. Then, I got an idea, "AVE CAESAR!" I yelled, throwing another spear as I saw it stick into one of the one's in leather armor, killing him instantly. I held Six's hand down, hoping she'd understand. Julie knew, and immediately started shouting what I could only guess was something in Latin, a language she seemed to at least know a _bit_ of from her constant tinkering. She did that while firing a few rounds off towards them, not really aiming. I looked over, seeing the Viper's running away, leaving behind the two corpses.

"Impressive." "I have my moments." I said, smiling at Six as I stood, the three of us walking towards the dead viper and the dying one. I took Julie's rifle from her, walking towards the dying Viper. "You… you ain't Legion! Boys! Get back- HUH!" "Shut up." I said as I jammed the barrel into his mouth, pulling the trigger. I saw parts of his head paint a morbid painting on the sand before I turned, pulling the man off my spear and tossing Julie her rifle back. She took it as I reached into my bag, giving her the ammo. "Remember, aim for the head." I said, smiling at her. She smiled back, nodding at me as I turned, stripping the leading Viper of his armor. Once I'd done that, the two women were surprisingly quiet as I took the scrap metal I'd scavenged, repairing the armor to peak condition before stripping down and putting it on. Other than Six's blushing face, neither seemed to react to it.

"You've ah… been taking good care of yourself huh?" Six said, smiling at me as she lightly pulled down on her top zipper. I grabbed my hammer, slinging it over my shoulder with a loud clang as I nodded. "Have to, to survive out here." "Betting you got all the ladies in Nipton with that attitude huh?" Six asked, smirking slightly. I didn't really react that much, just shaking my head before I turned, leaning down slightly. I looked back at her, and she just nodded, holstering her pistol before she jumped up, my hands wrapping around her thighs as the three of us started walking. "Wouldn't matter if I did. They're all dead now anyway." I said, looking straight ahead as I tried to avoid showing any emotion. It seemed to work rather well, since Julie and even Six kept their mouths shut for awhile, and in the end, oddly, I was the one that broke the silence.

"Didn't know there was an NCR camp out this way." I said, nodding towards the nearby group of buildings, the people in the familiar uniforms standing around and guarding it. Six just shrugged, leaning her head over my shoulder and looking towards the facility. "Uh, we shouldn't go near there…" she said, pointing away from us. I raised an eyebrow towards her, as far as I was aware, the NCR and Legion were enemies. Wouldn't one be good to her if she was so bad to the other? Though, I seemed to get my answer as soldiers started walking towards her, guns drawn as they aimed at her. "Ah-oh." Six said, her face paling as she stepped off of me, her hand on her gun. I drew my hammer, Julie stepping back and drawing her gun. She was there at Bitter Springs with me, we'd seen first hand what the NCR could do to people. Frankly, we didn't like it.

"Six. Don't be alarmed, we just want to talk." one of them, they were both female, said, walking towards us and holstering her gun. The other kept their gun pointed towards the three of us, Six specifically. Likely since I had a melee weapon and Julie was just a child. Six drew her revolver, aiming towards the woman. "I'm not going back Willow," then she gave me the mother of all surprises when she pointed her revolver at her own head. "Not _alive_ anyway." she said. Willow, apparently that was the ranger's name, held up her hands, shaking her head. She started backing away, the other officer glaring towards Six as I could see the strain on her face. I could tell she wanted to shoot Six right now, but her standing discipline wasn't letting her.

 **(a/n- I'm gonna state for the record that Six's trait being 'good-natured' doesn't necessarily make her a 'good' person. It just means that she's more inclined towards non-violence, since the trait itself reads** _ **nothing**_ **about actual karma. Figured someone would bring that up if I didn't clarify it.)**

"You ain't gettin' off the hook that easy whore. Come quietly." the other one said, aiming towards Six's gun in particular. I walked between the two, holding up my hands as I glared down at the woman. She was shorter than I was, with bright red hair and eyes that looked like they could kill a Legionary with their ferocity. "Why are you after her anyway? What's going on?" "That _bitch_ murdered three NCR officers in the correctional facility during a mass breakout. Not enough for you? We have reason to believe _she's_ the reason Goodsprings is now a pile of _ash!_ " she said, glaring towards Six. I turned around in… well, disbelief would be an understatement. _Anything_ would be an understatement. Sure, Six was dumber than a bag of hammers, really flirty, and would probably fuck a deathclaw if she could but, I couldn't see her _murdering_ innocent people. She couldn't do that… could she?

"You killed my mama… you locked me away… why the hell should I be _sorry_ about killing people like you!?" she said, glaring towards them as I saw tears gathering in her eyes. She pointed the gun at me, "Move. Aside." she said, her voice holding a power I didn't even really know existed. I shook my head, holding up both of my hands in a gesture of peace, looking over my shoulder towards the two NCR officers. "No. No one has to die today. Six," I turned back towards her, "Look, I know the NCR's bad sometimes. Hell, I was there at Bitter Springs, I probably know better than most people just how bad it gets. Killing them though… killing innocent people… why?" I asked. I just couldn't wrap my head around little (not so little in some places) Six killing people that didn't earn it. The powder gangers? Yeah, most of them earned it. Goodsprings? Why?

Six just slowly shook her head, "I didn't owe the town anything… that's why I spared Doc Mitchell, he saved me, none of the others did that for me. The powder gangers, their leader… he took care of me. I was the only girl in a prison _filled_ with rapists and murderers, I'm no poster-girl for sexual purity but, even _I_ have standards. Eddie wasn't the leader like he is now, but he still had a few good men under his wing… well, good by convict standards I guess. I was in there for three years, _three_! During the first two months I had to give out more sexual favors than I could count. Then Eddie and some of his crew got locked away and… that was it. I agreed to give him a good time in exchange for protection and… that was that. I even gave his buddy Scrambler his nickname. Guy screwed me so hard I couldn't put my clothes on without Eddie's help for a week." she said, smiling at the memory. Julie, thankfully, had walked away and hidden behind a rock, her hands slightly shaky as she aimed towards one of the guards. Just in case.

"When Cooke lead the breakout, I stayed by Eddie's side. He told me… he told me to run so… I did. I killed a few of the guards shooting at me and ran all the way to Primm. Got myself a job as a courier, and set off on making my delivery… until, well, a lot of things happened before I met you Thatcher." she said, smiling slightly before she dropped it, looking towards the female troopers. Willow raised an eyebrow as the walked around, Six keeping her gun on her at all times. "As touching as that may be, we only ask you come quietly and serve the remainder of your sentence. And you, Khan kid." Willow said, the other woman suddenly aiming her gun towards me. "Come with us." she said. I gritted my teeth, shifting the grip on my hammer as I took a step back, the woman aiming down the sight. I crouched into a combat stance, glaring towards the red-headed woman. "That's _not_ happening."

BANG!

"JAMIE!"

BANG!

I saw Jamie, apparently that was the red-head's name, fall first, a bullet entering the side of her skull. I saw Six kill Willow, seemingly without hesitating, but she was breathing a bit harder than normal. I looked over, seeing Julie walking towards us, slowly, as if in a trance. Her gun was smoking, and I knew who the woman's killer was. "I… I shot the hell out of her huh?" she said, looking up at me. I felt my eyes widen as I set my hammer back on my back… but then I just smiled. Two firsts in one day. Her first kill, and her first swear word. "Yeah… nice shot." I said, turning back towards the dead soldiers. I crouched down, reaching in the women's pockets and looting around. I took their rifles, standard NCR service rifles, not too complicated. I took one of them apart, finding the good parts and attaching them to the other one. Once I was done I tossed it to Julie, as well as the ammo. I took the caps and NCR dollars off of Jamie, standing back as I looked at Six.

"Willow's your kill. You've got claim to anything on her." I said, gesturing down at the woman. Six just nodded, taking… literally everything off of her. Other than her underwear and armor that is. Six pointed down at the corpses. "Can you repair the armor? I need a disguise, or every NCR soldier in the Mojave's going to be after the three of us." she asked. I just nodded, I could understand the argument there. I stripped the two women to their underwear, fixing their armor together and tossing away the other one, presenting the finished product to Six, as well as one of their helmets. Six smiled, leaning in and giving me a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks. Here's hoping they don't come after us." she said, pulling the outfit on over her vault suit. I guess that was another advantage. She could use it like underwear too, since I'd made it so small.

When she was dressed, I almost didn't recognize her. She looked like any other NCR trooper. Albeit one with a much larger than average bust. But still, like any other trooper. Six aimed her gun at me, and I could tell behind the storm chaser hat that she was smirking. "Hands up criminal, I'm gonna have to take you in." she said, walking towards me. I just shook my head, glaring towards her. She just sighed, holstering her gun again. "You're no fun." "If the NCR sees you out of disguise, they'll kill both of us on sight, I don't think we can _afford_ to have fun here." I said, glaring at her as I turned, walking down the road towards the station as Julie walked with me. Six started walking after a while, following behind the two of us as I looked over, seeing some of the troopers at the station gazing towards us. Thankfully though, it seemed to just be in passing, a bored glance of a soldier waiting for some action. Just one of their own on patrol behind the two civilians walking past.

We walked over the nearby hill, Six reaching back and pulling off the helmet as she sighed, "Phew, how do they _breath_ in these things? They're so tight!" she asked, pulling on the collar of her uniform. I looked down, giving a slight smile as I noticed her breasts swelling out _well_ past where the uniform was supposed to be. I'd made it as large as I could but, it wasn't like her vault suit. I couldn't _mend_ a ceramic trauma plate. "To be fair, most NCR soldiers don't have basketballs attached to their chests." I said. Six looked at me for a second, giving what may have been a glare, before she smirked, pulling off the armor and setting it in her pack. Then she walked over to me, smirking as she reached forwards. "Six! What the-! Put that back on!" I said, covering my eyes as I looked away. She'd quite literally just walked in front of me, unzipped the top part of her vault suit, and flashed her bare breasts at me.

"Why? You seem to like staring at my _basketballs_ so much. Go ahead and take a nice, loooong look Thatcher~" she said, smirking towards me as I risked opening my eyes, keeping a hand below to cover her chest from my view. I shook my head, watching her walk closer before she leaned against me, letting out a little yelp before falling back to the ground, covering her breasts with her arms. "My armor's made of metal, it's the _middle of the day_ Six. Think it might be, I don't know, maybe a little _boiling_ hot?" I asked sarcastically, crossing my arms as Six zipped her suit back up, standing up and frowning, keeping her arms over them as she hissed. Julie walked over, tapping Six's arm. "Do your basketballs hurt miss?" Julie asked, and I had to cover my mouth to keep myself from _bursting_ out laughing. Six just nodded, seemingly not caring about how I was trying not to laugh at her misfortune. "EEP!" Six yelped as Julie unzipped her bra, reaching up and lightly poking at Six's breast. She'd turned Six away from me, so all I could see was Six's backside.

I walked over slightly, seeing from the side as Six held her shirt open, letting Julie poke around and nod a few times, like a doctor diagnosing her patient. "Those boobies must be _reeeeally_ delicate miss, you've got a second degree burn." Julie said, turning away and rummaging around in her bag for a second. After a minute she pulled out something, a small jar she'd labeled as 'fire-cure'. She reached her little fingers in before she applied some of it to Six's breasts, said woman letting out a sigh of relief. "This is something I made out of Aloe Vera and fire ant nectar. It should heal the burns and keep you from getting any new one's for awhile… you might feel a little-" Six cut her off by falling backwards, landing in the sand as I heard some light snoring coming from her. "Drowsy." Julie finished. She walked over, zipping up Six's top before she motioned me over.

I leaned down slightly, looking at the unconscious woman as Julie tapped her hands on her arms and legs. "I wonder… Thatcher, could you lay down for a second?" "Umm… okay?" I said, complying as I looked up, shutting my eyes against the sun. I heard Julie move something around before I felt a weight suddenly on me. I opened my eyes, seeing the back of Six's head just a few inches from my face. I looked down, quickly turning away as I saw Julie removing Six's bottoms. "I thought so… strange." Julie said as I felt the weight moved away from me. When I looked up, I saw Six's bare butt facing the sky, Julie applying more ointment to it, it glowing bright red. "You've been carrying her this whole time, yet her arms, legs, even her stomach don't have any burns. Yet the second her boobies and her butt touch you, they get them in the second degree…" she said, rubbing her chin with one hand and spreading the ointment with the other.

"To be fair Julie, she grew up in a place where they didn't have to strip naked and bathe outside like we did." I said. Granted, it was still strange how she got a second degree burn by just _touching_ my armor. It didn't make any sense to me either. Her arms, legs, her belly, sure. But her ass or her tits? Instant burn. Julie nodded, "I suppose… do you think she'd let me do a physical on her once we get to Novac? I'm curious." she said, her eyes sparkling with that familiar determination and stubbornness that defined our family. I had it, our dad had it, our mom had it, my older sister had it, it was really only fitting Julie had it too. "Maybe. If we get to Novac before she wakes up you can do one on her anyway." I joked, giving her a smile as I ruffled her hair. She swatted my hand away, looking down at her as I picked her up, hoisting her onto my back. Julie looked over at me, "Thatcher?" "Yeah?" I asked. Julie pointed towards where I knew Novac was, just down the road.

"I think I will... let's hurry."


End file.
